Thomas James Finlayson

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

, commonly known as Tommy Finlayson (

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, 1 May 1938), is a

Gibraltarian The Gibraltarians (Spanish: ''gibraltareños'', colloquially: '' llanitos'') are an ethnic group native to Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterran ...

historian. He is also a former

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er and

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to Document, records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist c ...

of the

Gibraltar Archives The Gibraltar National Archives is a department of the Government of Gibraltar under the responsibility of the Ministry of the Deputy Chief Minister of Gibraltar. The Gibraltar Archives were established in 1969 following Gibraltar's first const ...

. He is the eldest brother of

Clive Finlayson Prof. Clive Finlayson MBE FLS (born 15 January 1955) is a Gibraltarian zoologist, paleoanthropologist and paleontologist. He is the incumbent Director of the Gibraltar Museum. Finlayson has published various works mainly based on his research ...

, the director of the

Gibraltar Museum The Gibraltar National Museum is a national museum of the history, culture and natural history of Gibraltar located within the city centre of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Founded in 1930 by the then Governor of Gibraltar, Genera ...

Early life

Tommy Finlayson was born in Gibraltar on 1 May 1938. His family, of Scottish descent, have been established on The Rock since the early 19th century. When

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

broke out he was evacuated, as was most of the civilian population of Gibraltar, with his family across the

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...

French Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco (french: Protectorat français au Maroc; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 to 1956. The prote ...

. Only a few weeks later, following the defeat of France and the

armistice with Germany The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

, the French authorities expelled the evacuees which the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

then decided to transfer to London via Gibraltar. Finlayson and his family were taken to London aboard the ''

Athlone Castle Athlone Castle, sometimes known as Adamson Castle, is a castle located in Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland, dating from the 12th century. History The earliest recorded "castle" of Athlone was a wooden structure built in 1129, by King Tairr ...

'' in July 1940. They lived in the Evacuee Centre at the Empire Pool in

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

until they were once again relocated to a camp in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

in 1944. Still a young boy, Finlayson attended the

Gibraltar Grammar School ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibra ...

following his

repatriation Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...

to The Rock, once the war had ended. He later studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

where he obtained an

honours Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...

MA in history.

Professional career

Finlayson later opted for a career in

teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the context of an educational institution. Teaching is closely re ...

, which he pursued in the United Kingdom and continued in Gibraltar upon his return in 1980.ICC Europe announces Regional Winners of Pepsi ICC Development Programme Awards for 2008
/ref> In 1985, after 25 years of teaching, he was appointed archivist at the Gibraltar Archives by the

Government of Gibraltar His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar is the democratically elected government of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The head of state is King Charles III who is represented by the Governor. Elections in Gibraltar are held every four ...

. He maintained this position from the 1980s to the early 2000s. At the same time, he wrote a number of books and articles on the contemporary

history of Gibraltar The history of Gibraltar, a small peninsula on the southern Iberian coast near the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea, spans over 2,900 years. The peninsula has evolved from a place of reverence in ancient times into "one of the most densely ...

. The most notable being ''The Fortress Came First. The story of the civilian population of Gibraltar during the Second World War'' (1990), which was described as "the definitive work on the wartime evacuation of Gibraltarian civilians". In 1993 he was awarded the MBE in the Queen's Birthday honours for his contribution to knowledge of the history of Gibraltar. In 2015 he was appointed Honorary Fellow of the Gibraltar Museum and was also awarded Gibraltar's Medallion of Distinction for his services in recording the history of Gibraltar.

Historical works

His works have been devoted to the contemporary history of Gibraltar: * * * * T J Finlayson Gibraltar Military Fortress or Commercial Colony 2011 , * T J Finlayson Gibraltar and the Spanish Shadow 2014 * T J Finlayson The boundaries of Gibraltar 2018

Cricket

Finlayson has also taken an active part in Gibraltar cricket; as a player, Secretary and formerly Chairman of the Gibraltar Cricket Association. In March 2009 he received the ''2008 Lifetime Service Award'' by

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...

Europe in recognition of his services to cricket in Gibraltar.Press release

, 11 March 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finlayson, Tommy Gibraltarian historians Living people 1938 births Gibraltarian cricketers Members of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of the University of Edinburgh